SAN DIEGO — The bat flip was practically an extension of his one-handed follow-through. He paused and stared, while the baseball soared through the San Diego night, landing in the Padres bullpen. Petco Park whipped into a frenzy. He high-fived Jackson Merrill as he skipped to first base, then he emphatically stutter-stepped at third, before he was mobbed by his teammates at home plate.
Fernando Tatis Jr. had been waiting for this moment for nearly nine years, since he was traded to the Padres as a 17-year-old prospect.
His first career walk-off home run did not disappoint.
Tatis’ two-run homer ended a wild 6-4 Padres victory over the Angels on Tuesday night, giving Tatis an early signature moment in what’s shaping up to be a signature season.
“In the big leagues, it’s one of those top moments,” Tatis said. “I’ve definitely had it on the back of my mind.”
With the game tied, 4-4, Elias Díaz opened the bottom of the ninth inning with a leadoff walk, bringing Tatis to the plate. Tatis had never recorded a hit against Kenley Jansen in six tries. But he faced him in Monday’s series opener and felt like he was picking the ball up better than he had before.
Sure enough, Jansen grooved a thigh-high cutter on the inner half of the plate, and Tatis made no mistake. He launched it a Statcast-projected 430 feet — 109.2 mph off the bat.
“That was sick,” said Manny Machado. “Super sick.”
Tatis and Machado played their first game as Padres on the same day — Opening Day 2019. Their arrival signified a turning point for the franchise. Perennial also-rans for so long, the Padres would soon become perennial contenders.
The city duly embraced both Tatis and Machado. Their superstar moments in this East Village ballpark hit just a little harder. Tatis has had plenty. He even notched his first two walk-off hits last September.
But he’d never hit a walk-off home run in the big leagues. Until Tuesday night.
“It was fun to be a part of and fun to be on that field,” Machado said. “We kind of knew what he’s been doing this year, so we knew we had a pretty good chance there.”
It was Machado who scampered home with the tying run in the eighth inning, scoring on a wild pitch with an excellent read on a ball in the dirt. The Padres had fallen behind in the seventh when their bullpen’s rough week continued.
“They have held us for more than a month,” Tatis said of the San Diego ’pen. “They have been lights out. It’s baseball. It’s a human game. It’s one of the toughest games out there. Man, they have been awesome, and we have their back no matter what.”
Tatis sure did on Tuesday night.
A two-time All-Star who has received MVP votes in three seasons, Tatis might be in the midst of his best season yet. Through 40 games, he is hitting .316 with a .963 OPS. He has stolen eight bases and launched 11 home runs, while playing an excellent right field. Add it all up, and Tatis leads the NL in wins above replacement, according to Baseball Reference.
“Tati’s been MVP-caliber,” said Padres manager Mike Shildt. “It’s just right there every night. In simple terms, you think, when you’ve got players on your team, ‘How do they beat the other team?’ And he literally beats you every way possible on a baseball field.”
On Tuesday night, Tatis did it with the long ball. By his own lofty standards, Tatis had been struggling lately. After a scorching April, he was hitting only .231 in his first 10 games this month.
As he grinded, Tatis acknowledged that those struggles sapped a bit of his usual energy. After his two most recent home runs, he didn’t do his signature stutter-step around third base. On multiple levels, he said he just hadn’t quite felt like himself lately. Without elaborating, Tatis simply noted that ballplayers are humans.
“Just ups and downs,” Tatis said. “The game has ups and downs. Some days you feel tired, you feel dragging. Some days you have stuff on your mind and you don’t feel your best. We play this game every single day, and every day we’re not 100%.”
Which made Tuesday’s walk-off drive even more cathartic. This time, Tatis’ stutter step at third base was emphatic — the stutter just a little bit longer, the leap just a little bit higher.
